


The Secret Language of Trolls

by punsandships



Category: In Other Lands | The Turn of the Story - Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Harpies, Idiots-to-friends, M/M, Pre-Slash, Trolls, ~magic~ forcing people to admit their feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 11:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18809854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punsandships/pseuds/punsandships
Summary: The trolls kidnap Elliot during the battle in the Forest of Suicides. Only someone very special can rescue him.





	The Secret Language of Trolls

_It was Luke and he was flying. He was a gilded waterfall of flash and feathers, and he carried Serene away._

_This became a less spectacular moment when the trolls, robbed of their prey, turned their heads and noticed Elliot._

_“Hi,” said Elliot, seeing one troll’s eyes narrow. “Hey. No?”_

 There was no flash of understanding in the troll’s eyes. He was really going to have to figure out troll-language. He’d put it off too long, and now babbling would do him no good. Because it was normally so effective.

In a low voice, one of the trolls gave instructions to two of the others, and they advanced toward Elliot. Oh. This was probably the time to use the athletic ability that Luke had so sneakily forced on him. He spun around and tried to launch himself into the woods, but the trolls had moved faster and more smoothly than he could have predicted, and an enormous hand came down on his head, collapsing him before he could run.

From his vantage point on the ground, he could see Luke returning, his wings outlined in a golden glow like he was some kind of angel. Elliot felt a deep surge of relief. He’d already been physically damaged and couldn’t seem to manage speech. This was the kind of moment that he might not actually mind a bit of forceful liberation.

 The troll that had bopped him was now manhandling him, scooping him up into a carry.

“Put me down,” Elliot finally managed. “Luke is probably going to kill all of you, but only more so if you try to take me. Put me down and run and you might…”

 The troll probably hadn’t understood anything he said, but just at the moment that Elliot said “run,” the troll did break into a run, unfortunately with Elliot still scooped in his arms.

 Elliot craned his neck to see Luke swooping towards them, remarkably fluent with the movements of his new wings. And then a troll with the dimensions of an apartment complex stepped between them and took a swat at Luke, sending him spinning. 

“Elliot!” he shouted as he veered around, trying to make another pass.

Elliot’s heart pounded. He could feel the ragged breaths and pounding heart of the troll carrying him, too. “Don’t die, loser,” Elliot shouted. He’d never seen anyone make contact with Luke in a real battle before. He didn’t know if this was because he usually avoided looking when Luke was in any physical danger, or if the exceptionally large troll was more of a match than Luke encountered before. Elliot very much wanted to be out of the troll’s arms, but he didn’t want Luke to get dead trying to make that happen.

The skirmish between the two of them was now distant enough that it was like watching Luke on the trigon pitch, and the distance was only growing. For the first time since the trolls had spotted him, the idea entered Elliot’s mind that Luke might not actually rescue him. The fear coursed through him and he started struggling with real urgency. It made no difference to the troll that carried him.Before he lost sight of Luke and the giant troll through the trees, he saw Luke’s opponent land a hit that made Luke connect with the trunk of a tree.

“Wait,” he begged. “Go back, I just need to know if Luke is okay.” If Elliot was going to find out how trolls treated their battle captives today (which his research indicated started with painful and ended with death) he wanted to know that Luke was going to be alright.

Elliot had pretended like they needed him for the alliance with the harpies, but they really needed Luke. And Serene needed Luke at her side in battles, so they would both be safe. And Luke had just gotten his wings in that morning. He needed to be okay.

The troll grunted, readjusted his hold, and kept up the impressive pace through the woods.

 

  
The journey was not pleasant, and Elliot was frightened, so he turned to his constant source of comfort: complaining. “I think you did something irreparable to my spine when you knocked me on the head. And I have yet to meet a single chiropractor in this land, which means I will probably have to spend the rest of my life complaining about how my back goes out when it’s cold and wet. Which, guess what, it’s always cold and wet here.”

The troll grunted and slowed to a walk. Again, it didn’t seem that he understood Elliot’s words, but it seemed to be a response to him talking.

“Where are you taking me? Not to put any ideas in your head, but it seems like a lot of extra trouble to capture me and take me back wherever we’re going when you could have--finished with me back at our camp.”

 No response.

“Also, I think it should be obvious, but I suppose there are species related differences that might not translate well: I’m useless in a fight. I won’t do any good to you, and no one on our side is going to miss having me. If you put me down now, I’ll just scamper on back, and no one will be the worse for it. Actually, I’m extremely irritating, so I probably drive morale down in our camp more than anything.”

The troll started speaking then, and with a start, Elliot realized that they weren’t speaking to him. He wriggled around and managed to see that several more trolls were lumbering towards them, one of them holding a bound and unconscious harpy in his arms. They conversed as they fell into step with one another, and Elliot paid close attention to the language. If his linguistic knowledge could be trusted, he’d say that it was a tonal language. And although the troll carrying him always seemed to grunt and growl in the typical way he thought of troll language, the others responded in voices that were sort of melodious. Maybe people usually encountered the grumpy and taciturn trolls.

 They travelled into the afternoon, climbing the foothills of a mountain and clambering between boulders, stopping only once for rest and food, which Elliot’s troll captor offered to him. They didn’t feed their harpy prisoner, because she was still sedated. They must have some idea of how useless Elliot was, he mused as he swallowed the grainy bread they gave him. The harpy, who he thought might be Celaeno’s mate, was secured and sedated. He was just sitting there on a rock. They knew he couldn’t get away.

“This has been a really lovely picnic,” he tried. “I’ve learned so much today. Lots to consider. Lots to research. Why don’t we call it a day and meet up in a few months to discuss peace when I’ve had some time to study troll language.” 

“Peace.” Elliot jumped. It had been the troll who carried the harpy prisoner who spoke. The word sounded uncomfortable in their mouth. But they’d chosen the word Peace to repeat, and that had to mean something.

Elliot pounced. “Right, absolutely. Peace. Let’s make that happen. You know, we don’t have to wait months if you are ready to make a treaty right now. I’m sure we can figure out a way.”

The troll made a sharp gesture with their shoulders, and the other two rumbled in what Elliot guessed was a laugh. Maybe they found the concept of negotiating with him laughable. Well, these were soldiers. Maybe they would take him back where he’d be able to talk to the intelligent trolls who stayed far away from fights. Trolls more intelligent than he’d been.

 

As they drew closer to their destination, more and more trolls joined them, until they were traveling in a pack of about fifty. They did not cheer and shout when they met up, and Elliot spied no other captives. He couldn’t piece together who had won the battle.

And Elliot’s heart rose when he saw wood smoke ribboning out from the mouth of the caves. He saw trolls gathered around fires in the open, and heard a shout of triumph go up. Surely there was someone here who would listen to him and not laugh at the mere mention of the word peace.

 And then, to Elliot’s dismay, the two trolls carrying captives peeled away from the returning party, dumped them in a tidy and very dark cave and closed the stone door. Elliot tried the door. Unsurprisingly, all the strength he could summon in his sneakily athletic frame didn't budge the barrier. He tried to think. At least they were not currently being sacrificed. That was probably just a stereotype that people like commander Whiteleaf perpetuated to keep people from looking at the trolls as a source of political alliance. But still, something to be grateful for.

There was a groan from the bundle of harpy that occupied the cave with Elliot. He watched uneasily as his companion stirred and tried her bonds.

She looked up at him patiently. “Do you want to help me get out of this,  or are you more interested in watching me slowly saw through with my wings?”

Elliott hurried over to help, almost wishing he'd kept the knife he used on Luke's shirt that morning. Troll fingers were nimble enough to tie some challenging knots.

When the harpy sat up and looked Elliott in the face, she gasped. “You're the beloved of Luke Sunborn.”

Elliott spluttered. He was glad no one else was there to see his inability to play it cool when confronted with this sentence. The was still no way to explain that she was sorely mistaken without making it clear that their favorite new nestling was a horrible liar and found his harpy relations repulsive. “And you are with Calaeno, right?” He asked. Maybe they could focus on her romantic life and could forget that Luke had put then all in this uncomfortable situation.

 “I am Celaeno's. Kopel. The troops will be sorry that they took us when our true loves come to retrieve us.”

 Elliott met this with an uncomfortable laugh, but Kopel had no time to continue thought, because the door rumbled aside and a delegation of trolls stood in the entrance.

 “Finally.” Elliot said, scrambling to his feet. “We can talk terms. I know it must have come to a shock to all of you that we were making an alliance with the harpies first, but I assure you that this was the very next place on my--” Elliot cut off talking abruptly when a troll hand came down, flattening him again.

 Kopel scrambled to her feet, snapping her beak until the troll backed up a pace. Then, to Elliot's astonishment, she started berating them in fluent troll. The trolls returned the volley of words, and Elliot attempted to wait until there was a break in the conversation to get Kopel to translate his message of peace. Before he saw an opening, though, the middle troll spat on the ground and all three exited.

 “Wait,” Elliot tried, struggling to his feet. “I’d like to discuss--” the rock slammed into place, and Elliot’s voice trailed off.

 Kopel stretched her wings so that they stretched from one edge of the cave to the other. Maybe it was just because of how dark it was in the cave, but they didn’t seem to be captivating as Luke’s. She flapped the wings a few times, and Elliot ran a hand through his hair, freeing a few of the feathers from the trap.

 “Worry not, beloved of Luke. The trolls have told me that they are keeping us here as bait.”

 “That’s very calming news,” Elliot responded, then scolded himself. Kopel was not Luke. He needed to be polite to her.

 “Precisely. When our true loves come to retrieve us, they will speak to them about how the harpies turned their backs on the trolls to side with the humans. Then they will let us go.” She didn’t seem to notice the sarcasm. Maybe harpies were immune to sarcasm. It would explain a lot.

 “You keep mentioning our true loves. But would it affect their plan if our true loves aren’t the ones to come get us? I mean, hypothetically. If they are busy.”

Kopel folded her wings neatly away. “I forget how little humans know about the ways of the trolls. That is the reason why they had to take you and me, and none of the others from the camp. Troll encampments are well hidden and shrouded in enchanted protection. No one can find their way to the camp unless someone they love is already there. Any who attempt to travel with them will lose their way, and often their lives. A very effective defense, usually, but it makes it difficult for the harpies if we have a message to get to the trolls. It has to happen on their terms. Today they captured us so they would have Celaeno and Luke.”

Elliot’s knees buckled, and he collapsed into a sit as if he’d been flathanded by a troll.

“Do not worry, pretty young thing. We may be bait, but I do not think the trolls will harm Celaeno or Luke. I believe they wish to use us as bargaining chips so they are not left out of the alliance.”

“Um. In order to find the troll camp. The loves. Do they have to be romantic?” 

Kopel’s head tilted and her winged shoulders bobbed, making her look more like a curious crow in the dark of the cave than anything else. “They do not have to be romantic, only true. But I do not understand why you would worry when you have young Luke to come retrieve you.”

 “I’m very nosey, and as you said, humans know next to nothing about trolls.” Elliot forced a smile. He very much hoped that Luke would stay back at camp. He did not want him losing his way or his life, even if it had been annoying of him to pretend they were dating. Serene could come instead, if she could be spared. He tried to brush away the doubt. Yes, she had Golden to think about, and yes, she was probably very busy with the role of diplomat, if her role as warrior was finished. But if the harpies at camp explained the situation, Luke and Serene would know that Luke would never be able to find the troll camp, and Serene would step in to help.

“While we’re trapped in this dark hole in the ground, I would like to know everything you know about trolls, including as much of the language as you can feasibly teach me.” 

Kopel’s looked at him with that strange tilt of her head, and Elliot felt a moment of sympathy for her. Elliot would not have wished being trapped in an enclosed space with him on his worst enemy.

“Or we could just sit and contemplate life,” he offered. 

“No. It is fine. I have never taught a human before. I hope you are a fast learner.”

That, at least, Elliot could promise.

  


Two trolls came in some time later to give them bowls of soup and bedrolls. Elliot tried out the greetings that Kopel taught him, and the trolls rolled their shoulders and rumbled with laughter. When they left, Kopel poured the soup down her throat and pronounced, “They’re amused by you.”

Elliot eyed the soup. He was very hungry but wished they’d brought him something like bread and cheese again, because he felt more confident that there was no immoral meat in bread.

“The soup is fine,” Kopel encouraged. “You should keep your strength up.”

It was only after drinking the soup that Elliot considered the fact that harpy approval of his dinner should be taken with a grain of salt, considering what the harpies were doing to any of the trolls they’d killed back in the Forest of Suicides 

Kopel combed her fingers through her hair, picking out loose feathers. Something about the gesture was lonely, and Elliot realized that this was probably something Celaeno would normally do for her mate. Like Luke, trying to get all of his feathers out of Elliot’s forest fire hair. Only not like that at all.

“I had thought they would arrive tonight.” Kopel’s voice sounded more birdlike, more keening, than it had during their language lesson. “I would like to know that Celaeno is well.”

 Elliot thought of Luke colliding with the tree. He wanted to know that Luke was well, too. But it wouldn’t be Luke coming to get him.

  


Elliot had trouble sleeping that night. Although the cave did have better insulation than a tent, it made up for that it being uncomfortable. When he was awoken by the sound of rocks shifting and tumbling, he felt like he’d only just dozed off. Kopel hurried to the mouth of the cave, and he followed just behind her. The entrance only permitted the murkiest of pre-dawn light. Kopel’s wings spread, and he couldn’t see past them to see who was standing in the mouth of the cave.

“Celaeno!” Kopel screeched. “You have come!”

Elliot tried to dodge the wings. “Serene?” he called.

Kopel and Celaeno’s wings dropped as they turned to look at him in confusion, and he caught a glimpse of the person standing on the other side, looking annoyed. “Not Serene.” 

Elliot’s insides made several unexpected maneuvers. He stepped forward, checking Luke for any sign of lasting injury. He was fine. Of course he was fine, he always was. And even though Elliot didn’t want to admit it to himself, he was also checking for something else. The joy he’d seen in Celaeno’s face. The wings spread in welcome. Any sign that the story Kopel fed him about true loves and troll defense was true. But Luke’s wings were folded tight, quivering with irritation, and the muscle on his jaw was pulsing.

“Oh,” Elliot said, and he heard disappointment in his own voice. Because there had been one unbearably warm moment that he thought Luke might love him. That the triangle of the only people he really loved was returned.

He should tell them. He should explain to the harpies that the old legend about the troll’s encampment was false. Kopel had said it was a disadvantage to the harpies. It didn’t have to be.

But at the moment, there were a line of trolls standing behind them, holding weapons at the ready.

Kopel and the captain of this particular outfit exchanged a few sentences and Kopel ushered Celaeno back into the cave. “They said it is too early to begin treaty discussions. They will come back with breakfast.”

“Trolls sure know how to treat a guy,” Elliot yawned. “But they’re terrible liars. Celaeno, Kopel, they’ve been lying to the harpies about the idea that you can only get to their home if someone you love is there.”

This was a good time to not look at Luke. Elliot looked at Luke. Luke looked furious. But it was more important for the harpies to understand their advantages than for Luke’s lie to go unnoticed.

Celaeno looked amused. “They have not.”

“They have. I’m sure of it. If you wish, you could bring your whole army here and take a position of strength in negotiations. You don’t have to wait for a troll to instigate communication any longer.”

 “Elliot,” Kopel frowned, “I thought I explained this to you. We have lost warriors already because of this curse.”

“It was a coincidence then, or some plot of the trolls. Maybe you just need one person in your party who can make it. Because Luke is here, and he doesn’t love me. He can hardly stand me on a good day.”

Kopel gasped.

“Shut up, Elliot,” Luke growled.

“We’re not dating,” Elliot continued. Luke might never talk to him again after this. He hadn’t wanted Elliot on the trip in the first place, and now Elliot had managed to get captured and tell everyone that Luke is a liar. “He was trying to protect me because he thought I’d be afraid of the other harpy’s attention. I don’t know how he made it here, because he’s made it very clear that we’re not even friends. 

Elliot hated how wretched all of this made him feel. It might shock Kopel and Celaeno, but it wasn’t supposed to feel like a shock to him. But saying things out loud was horrible.

“Why can’t you ever just shut up, Elliot?” Luke despaired. Privately, Elliot agreed. Luke turned to Celaeno. “He thinks he knows everything. I’m sorry.”

Celaeno let out a series of squawks. After a minute, Kopel joined in.

“I’m sorry,” Elliot frowned. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Laughing at both of you,” Kopel corrected.

“As if there was a flaw in the troll’s defenses,” Celaeno choked, “And not your understanding of Luke’s feelings. Humans are so amusing.”

Elliot’s eyes shifted to Luke. Luke was blushing, which Elliot had thought was only because of being caught in a lie. He was also avoiding eye contact with Elliot.

“When we follow people to the troll encampments,” Celaeno explained, “We often tell each other about the person we are going there to find. It helps us keep the focus of our feelings and not lose our way. Luke told me before we left that he had lied. Yet here we are.”

Elliot’s eyes flicked back to Luke’s and found Luke quickly walking away. Warmth was swelling in his chest again, and he couldn’t find the logic to dispel it. But it couldn’t be true. He’d told Elliot on this very trip that he didn’t want him around. He’d been so angry when Elliot told Commander Woodsinger that Luke wanted him there. Luke loved Serene, and his family, and maybe Dale, and why would he also feel anything for Elliot?

A strange, harsh laugh bubbled out of Elliot. “This can’t be real.” 

Luke turned around, wings quivering with anger, and Elliot wondered if it actually was. If somehow, all these years, Elliot and Luke had been just-missing each other. He couldn’t suppress a smile.

 

The trolls returned before Elliot could actually have a full conversation with Luke about the situation, and the rest of the day was a whirl of the trolls chuckling over Elliot’s attempts to speak to them in their language, Kopel translating, and setting out a written treaty to include the humans, trolls, and harpies. Elliot had correctly understood that a people so dedicated to their own defense was less preoccupied with gaining more territory and more concerned with being left alone. When he was satisfied with the treaty, copied into both languages and ready to be flown to Commander Woodsinger, he collapsed onto a boulder near the campfire. Although Luke always seemed to be (sometimes literally) hovering near him with a hand on his sword, they hadn’t exchanged a single word.

Luke looked somewhere between uneasy and miserable, but Elliot couldn’t help feeling a spark of satisfaction every time he looked at Luke. Someone as good and brave and smart as Luke actually liked Elliot. Someone so loved by everyone loved Elliot, too.

Kopel approached Elliot and Luke around twilight. “Celaeno and I will fly back tonight to bring the treaty to your commander. You two will need to walk some, so we suggest you spend the night here and join us tomorrow.”

Luke’s head jerked up. “We’re not going with you?” 

“You two will do fine on your own,” Celaeno said warmly. “You’re very good at taking care of yourselves, for males.”

And then it was just the two of them and a lot of trolls that Elliot couldn’t really communicate with. Although saying he could really communicate with Luke seemed overly optimistic. 

“Thanks for coming to my rescue, loser,” Elliot said. “You’re my hero.”

Luke started. “I wouldn’t have had to come here if I hadn’t let you get taken in the first place.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten taken in the first place if I didn’t insist on coming with you when you didn’t even want me around.” There was a question in Elliot’s words, but he couldn’t make himself say it.

“I’m going to bed.”

Luke stood up, but before he could disappear into their cave, Elliot asked, “I know that you actually like me. How come you’re acting like this. Avoiding me?”

Luke’s face stilled. “Goodnight, Elliot.”

  


Several of the trolls actually came to see them off the next morning, and one actually presented Elliot with a geode the size of his fist. Luke snorted as they started picking their way down the steep path. They’d determined that Luke would only fly Elliot when the footpath was particularly difficult. “Of course, now you’ve got a troll trying to court you.”

“Is that what this is?” Elliot grinned, holding the stone up to admire its colors in the morning sun. “Amazing how likable I am when I can’t actually speak to someone.”

Luke huffed, and Elliot decided to push his luck. “Of course, a few people manage to like me even when I do talk to them.”

Silence.

 “You, for instance.”

 “Elliot,” Luke said through clenched teeth. “Why are you harping on this?”

 Elliot laughed again, because he thought Luke had been making a pun. But Luke was angry and red, and Elliot sighed. His troll communication was better. “Why are you upset about it?”

 “Because it’s humiliating?” he snarled. “You never even gave me a chance. You made it clear that I was never going to be your friend from the very beginning. I don’t know why you find this so hilarious, but I wish you would just leave it alone.”

Oh. Elliot felt extremely dumb. Actually, he felt like a child who had never mastered the theory of mind. Elliot knew how silly they’d been for the past several years; he’d gotten everything he wanted, but Luke hadn’t. Luke thought he was standing alone in a room with a locked door, and Elliot knew they were both in the room, where it was actually warm and dry for once. Oh.

It should be simple to fix. Elliot opened his mouth to explain and realized exactly how horrible it must have been for Luke to admit that he liked Elliot. Elliot already knew that Luke liked him and wanted to be his friend, and he still couldn’t make the words come.

 “You don’t have to say anything.” Luke sounded miserable. “You and Serene are my best friends. I know you don’t want to be my friend, but I still--I can’t seem to help wanting to be yours. I don’t want anything to change.”

 “That’s stupid,” Elliot responded. “Because I’m terrible and make you upset, even when I’m trying not to be terrible, and I want things to change. I’ve thought of you as my friend since my first year here, and I kept saying that we couldn’t be friends because I thought a person like you would never want anything to do with me.”

 “No,” Luke responded. He stopped walking to glare at Elliot. “That’s stupid, because I tried to spend so much time with you. You couldn’t even remember my name.”

 “You never remember anybody’s name.”

 “I remembered yours.” Luke’s shoulders were heaving, his wings jerking. “You were hoping Serene would be the one to come find you. I know what you think of me. I don’t want your pity.”

 “I was _expecting_ Serene to come find me,” Elliot replied. It was possible his shoulders were heaving as well. It was hard to breathe. He wondered if he was suffering from altitude sickness. “I thought she was the only one who could.”

 Luke rolled his eyes. “Oh my god, Elliot. My sister could have come get you. My mom could have come get you. Commander Woodsinger volunteered to go get you--”

 “She did?”

 “But I said I had to go.” Luke’s voice came out tight. “Because I was the one who let them take you, and I’d never be able to live with myself if you got hurt.”

Elliot paused. “You wouldn’t?”

 Luke’s shoulders hunched, and he broke eye contact. “No. And I wish you would learn how to use a weapon, because it would make me worry about that a lot less.”

 “I’m not going to do that. But I was very worried about you when that troll sent you flying into a tree. I’m always worried about you when you’re in battles, even though you are the best.”

 Luke looked back. “I’m the best?”

 Elliot crossed his arms. “Obviously. In several objective challenges you’ve won. I’m not an idiot, Luke, I’m well aware that you’re incredible.”

 A laugh startled out of Luke’s mouth. “You’re not making fun of me.”

 “Not yet, although I reserve the right to change my mind.”

 “Does this mean that we’re actually friends?”

 Elliot looked down the rest of the mountain path they were supposed to hike together. “Yes,” he pronounced. “Especially if friends will take friends for a fly with their brand-new-incredible wings.”

 Elliot’s stomach swooped with joy as Luke picked him up and launched them into the air.

“You look like you’re sprouting feathers from your head,” Luke laughed, his breath winding through Elliot’s hair and sending a chill down his spine.

“I like them,” Elliot said, hoping that Luke could hear what he really meant.   


**Author's Note:**

> Wow no scene from the play? Amazing.


End file.
